Tennessee Creates Latino Network 

By Houkje Ross


Closing the Gap, Supporting State Offices of Minority Health • September/October 2000


An increase in phone calls about Hispanic health to her office 

and in the number of Hispanic faces she saw on the street 

were enough to convince Patricia Totty that something was 

changing in Tennessee. 

Tennessee’s Latino population has grown tremendously over the 

last 18 years. Traditionally a state 

comprising African Americans and “With this population, we found that the best whites, Tennessee now has more found that the best way to provide 

than 63,000 Latinos, up from way to provide services is by word of mouth.” services is by word of mouth,” said 

Once a month, members of the Hispanic Coalition Network 

meet with staff of Tennessee’s OMH. “It’s really about information 

sharing,” said Totty. Members of the network include churches, police 

departments, educators, individuals who work with migrants, and 

other community organizations. An average of 15 members come to 

the meetings, said Totty. 

“With this population, we 

14,000 in 1980. “Even without 

the data to back it up, you could see the changes,” said Totty, assistant 

director of the Tennessee Office of Minority Health (OMH).

 With the changing demographics came more and more Hispanic-serving community-based organizations around the state. They 

were all working to address the concerns of the growing Latino population. “We also began to receive calls and questions from health care 

workers,” Totty said. “They were asking for data on Hispanics and 

looking for physicians who could serve this population.” 

At the same time state OMH was receiving calls, it noticed that 

many community organizations were unaware of each other. “As a 

result, services were sometimes overlapping,” said Totty. 

Network promotes information sharing 

To bring organizations and individuals together, Tennessee’s 

OMH, with funding from the federal OMH, initiated a collaborative 

partnership in 1998 called the Hispanic Coalition Network. The 

Network aims to gather information on the sociocultural characteristics of Latinos in Tennessee and to disseminate statistical data among 

agencies and organizations that work with Latinos. 

The Network will also work to increase partnerships and collaborative efforts between Latinos and non-Latinos of Tennessee and serve 

as a clearinghouse for appropriate information and resources. 

Totty. Recently, BellSouth gave the 

Network space on the Web for a listserv where members can post 

information. The state also developed a bilingual resource directory of 

Hispanic and Latino services throughout the state. 

“For about eight months now, we have also had a presenter come 

to speak with Network members on current topics of interest,” said 

Totty. An agent for the Immigration and Naturalization Service has 

came to discuss immigration laws and documentation guidelines, and 

several state health representatives came to talk about the state managed care, maternal and child health, and breast and cervical cancer 

programs, according to the summary report of the Network. (See box 

on this page.) “The response has been very positive,” said Totty. 

Totty notes that the Network is not expensive to run—only 

about $200 per month. “The most expensive and time consuming 

part of developing the Network was the initial set-up. I spent a lot of 

time searching for a consultant who could help me establish a strategic 

plan for the Network,” she said. Totty added that she chose a Hispanic 

consultant to gain credibility with the Hispanic population. 

For more information on the Hispanic Coalition Network, contact 

Patricia Totty, (615) 741-9443.

Keeping up with Emerging State Issues 

The Tennessee Office of Minority Health arranged several presentations for members of the Hispanic Coalition Network. Examples of presenters 

and topics included: 

•	 The Immigration and Naturalization Service gave a presentation on immigration laws, documentation guidelines, establishment of full 

service offices, and deportation policies. 

•	 A legislative lobbyist discussed how to access legislators to support general diversity and specific interest issues in the state’s General 

Assembly. 

•	 A community organizer discussed how to develop community needs assessments for public service awareness programs for new populations. 

•	 Legal aide representatives and public defense attorneys discussed legal issues impacting Hispanics in Tennessee and how to access criminal 

justice resources. 

• Representatives from the Tennessee Department of Health talked about the state managed care program 

(TennCare), maternal and child health programs, and breast and cervical cancer programs. 

Office of Minority Health Resource Center	 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services